Title:Breaking the Silence of Tumor Response: Future Prospects of Targeted Radionuclide
Therapy
Volume: 22
Issue: 10
Author(s): Aanchal Udaynath Pareri, Arunkumar Singh Koijam and Chandan Kumar*
Affiliation:
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India
Keywords:
Cancer therapy, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, targeted radionuclide therapy, combination therapy.
Abstract:
Therapy-induced tumor resistance has always been a paramount hurdle in the clinical triumph of cancer
therapy. Resistance acquired by tumor through interventions of chemotherapeutic drugs, ionizing radiation, and
immunotherapy in the patients is a severe drawback and major cause of recurrence of tumor and failure of therapeutic
responses. To counter acquired resistance in tumor cells, several strategies are practiced such as chemotherapy
regimens, immunotherapy and immunoconjugates, but the outcome is very disappointing for the patients as well as
clinicians.
Radionuclide therapy using alpha or beta-emitting radionuclide as payload becoming a popular practice for cancer
therapy. With the improvement in dosimetric studies, development of high-affinity target molecules and design of
several novel chelating agents which provide thermodynamically stable complexes in vivo, the scope of radionuclide
therapy has increased by leaps and bounds. Additionally, radionuclide therapy along with the combination of
chemotherapy is gaining importance in pre-clinics, which is quite encouraging. Thus, it opens an avenue for newer
cancer therapy modalities where chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy are unable to break the silence
of tumor response. This article describes, in brief, the causes of tumor resistance and discusses the potential of
radionuclide therapy to enhance tumor response.
